Monday, December 20, 2010

My second painting from Canyon De Chelly.Canyon De Chelly is an inspirational placeto paint and well worth the trek to NortheastArizona. Painting from the base requires hiringa Navajo guide but it is worth the expense.To paint from the base as Edgar Payne andmany other notable American landscape paintershave is an awesome experience. There arepaintings everywhere you look.

I spent three days painting from the base withWilliam Kalwick, Jr., Kaye Franklin, Fran Ellisorand Steve Atkinson. It was a trip of a life time andI can't wait to go back.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

With this painting I start a new seriescalled "Canyons and Badlands" based on tripsI have taken over the past two yearsto Big Bend, the Grand Canyon and CanyonDe Chelly. I finally had to admit to myself thatI went into a semi-funk after my one-man showlast month. After working so hard over aperiod of months to create 35 worthy paintingsand then there was the high of the show weekend,I guess it is only natural to feel a bit downafter such an event.

I took a couple of weeks off from painting (big mistake).I sat around FaceBooking and blogging about the showwhich was an important thing to do, but it keptme away from the studio. I think my outdoor gearhates me now. So, yesterday I started going throughpictures of my recent trips looking for something topaint and that's when I realized how much great referencematerial I have on the three canyons I've been to recently.

I did two small paintings yesterday just to see if Istill knew how to paint. Today I'm starting a largerpainting (20" x 24") and next week I hope to go even larger.Don't know how many paintings there will be, but hey,it gives me focus and that is apparently something I need.Otherwise the social media thing takes over. Ironicthat I'm sitting here blogging when I have a blankcanvas screaming at me to get off my butt and startslopping paint. Gotta go. Bad Karma to have a canvasmad at you.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Standing several stories tall just north of Templeis the Cargill Grain Elevator. Those whofollow my work know I have a thing forgrain elevators. I like the old woodenones which are very hard to find these days.For my "35 on 35" show I was looking for somethingin the Temple to Waco area and this caught myeye. I don't know how many times I'vedriven past it and never taken notice.

On this particular day it stood out becausethe sky was clearer and bluer than usual soI ventured off the highway set up my easeland did a quick color sketch. Something aboutthe composition kept bringing me back tothe sketch. I liked the way the railroad trackstake your eye into the painting and the waythe trees on the right balanced the tall buildings.This studio version made the show based on thestrength of the design more than anything else.All-in-all not an overly inspiring piece but a gooddocumentary painting of life in central Texas.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

"City Lights Reflections" 8" x 10" oil/linenI should have named this one"Cloud Chaser" because that's what I wasdoing in order to capture this one. You seethese types of extra large cloud formationsin New Mexico and Arizona all the time but herein Texas it may only occur a few timesa year.

I had spent most of the day south of Austinpainting. I had two in the box I felt goodabout and was settling in for the four hourdrive home to McKinney. This lone largecloud mass began to form on the east side ofthe highway as I came through theAustin/Georgetown area. I couldn't help butnotice it and decided I should try to captureit as a painting. The problem was I couldn'tget far enough away from the city to see thebottom of the cloud.

As I came through Round Rock the highwayaccess road on the west side is elevated so I wentthrough town, made a u-turn and finallygot high enough to see the bottom of the cloudand it was lit up like a Christmas tree from therising dust and city lights. It was amazing.

I set up behind a dumpster near the Rudy's BB-Q placeand by now the sun was setting fast so I had towork fast. There is no way to feel this kind of rushworking in the studio. Twenty minutes later I had thebasics of what I needed for the painting. I put on ahead lamp to light the canvas as I finished the pieceon the spot. I made up most of the landscape atthe bottom of the piece. My apologies to Best Buyand Walmart for not including them in the painting.Just because its there doesn't mean I have to paint it.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Sometimes the simplest paintings arethe most fun and rewarding. I havewatched this herd of herefords onmany occasions. Their reddish browncoat in stark contrast to their whitefaces, socks and collar make them anappealing subject to paint.

This was a late afternoon and the whiteunderbelly hair was being lit from thereflected light off the ground mixed in withsome dust. What caught my eye were the shotsof teal and purple on the faces. I picked outthis one calf who didn't seem to be in muchof a hurry to go anywhere and after a few falsestarts with the pose I settled in on this one.Dropping him in front of the herd gavehim a sense of place.

Of the 35 paintings in the show this little oneis one of my favorites and I'm happy toreport is now in the care of a beloved collector.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

This painting is actually the second of theday from the same location. I had stoppedalong the access road in Buda, Texas to painta series of barns. A group of about ten cowsmade their way across the field in front ofme and had began to settled in under the onetree that was providing the only shade.The problem was the tree was not very largeand, consequently, was not throwing a largeenough shadow to provide enough shadefor all the cows.

One by one they backed into the shade, found theirspot and settled in. Bringing up the rear was this oneyearling and by the time he got to the shade all ofthe spots had been taken. He tried tomuscle his way in but none of the other cowswould budge leaving him no choice but to blopdown in full sun. I found the whole processquite comical. I finished my barn scene, turnedmy canvas and knowing the cows weren't goinganywhere for a while painted this scene.

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My history

Landscapes are my passion but an occassional still life will capture my imagination.
I was born in Texas, lived here all my life. I've imagined living in Colorado or Arizona, but my heart and soul is Texan through and through.
I hold a Masters degree in medical illustration and am a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Medical illustration is a highly technical, skills intensified occupation where education through illustration is the driving force behind every painting. Nowadays everything is digital and I work mostly in Photoshop. Getting into my studio to push oil paint around is a blessing.